electric

Scientists have folded salty ice and discovered that it behaves like an electric generator

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When we think of ice and salt, it is normal to imagine a road in the middle of winter: the accumulated snow on the asphalt, the trucks spreading salt in a hurry and the neighbors trying not to slip on the icy sidewalks. It is a typical scene in the north or in the mountain areas, where winter turns the landscape into postcard, but also a daily challenge for those who have to move between cut roads or pedestrian crossings turned into traps. What we usually see how a simple help against ice on roads, can actually hide an energy potential. A team from the University of Xi’an Jiaotong, in collaboration with ICN2 and Stony Brook University, has managed to try it in the laboratory. A discovery with “taste” to salt. A pinch of salt for a material to deform, produce electricity. This phenomenon has a name and is called flexoelectricity. It had already been observed in moving glaciers or in ice plates under pressure, but never with results as powerful as those achieved in this study. According to the studythe team frozen water with different concentrations of common salt (NaCl) and created ice blocks in several ways: cones, beams and plates. Then they applied flexion tests – check the ice on two supports and exert pressure from above – and measured the electricity generated. The result was surprising: salty ice generated up to 1,000 times more electric charge than pure ice. The key ingredient. But how can salt enhance something as inert as ice? The answer is in the salted water microchannels that are trapped between the crystals. As the ICN2 press release detailssalt prevents ice from freezing. When folding, water and salt ions move from compressed areas to the stretched, generating an electric charge flow, what scientists call a “Current streaming”(Drag current). In practical terms, the effect is so strong that experimental devices reached values ​​comparable to the best piezoelectric materials used today in the industry, According to research. Depend on ice. At first glance, this technology could have applications in extreme environments, such as scientific stations in polar regions, where installing conventional energy infrastructures is very difficult. The finding contrasts with reality. Since 2000, glaciers have lost 273,000 million tons of water annually, According to ESA. That is equivalent to the consumption of the entire world population for three decades. The setback is already translates into a loss of 5% of the global ice volume, with visible consequences: increased sea level and less availability of fresh water in rivers such as Ebro. Thus, to talk about ice as an energy resource raises an uncomfortable paradox: depending on something that melts increasingly faster. That’s not all. Beyond the environmental dilemmas, the study itself recognizes that there is still much to solve. As they point out in Techxploresalty ice devices suffer mechanical fatigue: after many flexion cycles, their ability to generate energy can fall to 80%. In addition, much of energy is lost in the form of heat, which makes efficiency still lower than that of commercial piezoelectric devices. The look is wide. Even so, the finding opens a fascinating door. “Its advantages – abundance, sustainability and low cost – make it a promising candidate for clean technologies,” Underline the ICN2. And researchers believe that the model is not limited to ice: it could be applied to other porous solids containing fluids inside. The paradox, however, persists: while science explores how to take advantage of the hidden energy on ice, climate change melts at an alarming pace. Perhaps this discovery not only serves to think about new technologies, but also to remember the value of a resource that is disappearing. Image | Photo by POT ON Unspash and Freepik Xataka | A Microsoft Data Center in Mexico collided with the reality of the electricity network. Your solution: use gas generators

Ford had 20,000 workers in the Colonia factory. Ten years later they are 7,600 because their electric cars are not bought

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Three years ago, Ford presented its short and medium -term road map for Europe. Then they announced seven new completely electric modelsof which they were commercial vehicles. Of the other three, only one was a Ford. And, in fact, it has ended up becoming the electric variant of a combustion car. We talk about Ford Pumaan electric car in which they have had to juggle to put an electric motor train. A car limited to the city because platform restrictions Combustion barely leave space for a 43 kWh battery. With its more than 34,000 euros of departure, it has become a difficult car taking into account that it moves on the highway between 200 and the 250 real kilometers of autonomy. The other two, as we said, are not Ford cars. The Ford Explorer and Ford Capri They are electric cars mounted on the Volkswagen platform. In both cases we have stressed that, dynamically, cars have a slightly more interesting tuning than that of the Germans, with more hard suspensions and a slightly more direct direction. However, if you mount one and another it is easy to verify that both models are mounted on the Volkswagen MEB platform. That is disguised with the vertical displaceable screen in depth and a speaker arranged as if it were a sound bar. But that’s it. The interface of a good part of the menus is Purely Volkswagen And, specifically, it is evident that it is a hardware and software mounted on the MEB platform. And that is bad news. For your touch controls or for your usability decisions. And they are also bad news for Ford. So much that it will fire a thousand German employees because their electric cars are not buying. The results of a failed strategy A thousand employees. That is the number that Ford will say goodbye to its neighborhood plant (Germany). They argue that “in Europe, the demand for electric cars is still well below the forecasts of the sector” and that, therefore, the plant will pass to a single shift in 2026, reducing its productive capacity, in words collected by Motorpasion. They explain in the middle that so far this year, Ford has sold 19,000 Ford Explorer units and Capri is still below. In fact, you have to go down to the fourteenth place between best -selling electric cars in Europe in the first half of the year to find the Americans. Cupra, Byd or Peugeot were above them. We could talk about bad results but Ford invested 1,000 million euros in Colonia to modernize the plant and get its electric cars out of there. With a productive capacity of 250,000 vehicles per year, the factory works at half a gas. Nor is it a good time to receive this news since The company is losing money this year and suffering with American tariffs. So much so that last year he earned 1.8 billion dollars and this year plays in red numbers. The result is also the consequence of a risky strategy: to offer two clearly differentiated products. In October 2024, Jim Farley, his CEO, said that the company was “leaving the market of boring cars to enter the market of iconic cars” to the magazine Car. The statements They coincided over time with the abandonment of classic vehicles in the European market such as party, Mondeo or Focus. And it continued: “We are good making a quick car (about Ford and the bronco sub -jack) and authentic SUVs. Look at the Raptor, we brought it from Mexican competitions and turned it into a car that can be used in the street. It is a great example of where I think our passenger cars should go (…) We can face Porsche with the Mustang, it is the best -selling sports coupe in the world. and be stronger and stronger “ In those words, Ford’s strategy was hidden. European emission regulations They aimed at 2025 of Milmillonarias fines. Finally, the sanctions were delayed to 2027 but, if applied, Ford needs to sell many more electric and few cars like the ones Farley mentioned since they exceed the maximum proposed emissions of 93 gr/km of CO2. The answer was the hug to the Volkswagen MEB platform. This has been criticized harshly by critics and the public. In their eagerness to reduce costs, decisions have been made as a profusion of tactile controls They bother in place of adding. And cars have not highlighted precisely for good autonomy or a groundbreaking price. But, in return, Ford has obtained two electric cars in the market with a minimum investment. The risk is almost limited to the modernization of the colony plant. So, There are two clearly differentiated business lines In Ford: Cheap cars (developed on the work of others) and expensive and representative cars that do not even refer to Ford. It is no accident that the Mustang, Bronco or Raptor have lost the Ford logo on their front. They are, in themselves, as families that work almost independently. The problem is that the public has not bought Ford’s bet. The Ford Explorer or Capri are not bad electric cars but you have to assume the youth errors of the MEB platform paid, in addition, at a high price. In what we have been, in Spain, 649 units have been bought between the sum of these two models. 649 units of the almost 21,000 registrations that Ford is registered at the end of August. The damage is especially bleeding in more powerful markets. In Germany, Volkswagen has managed to overcome with the ID.3a car that seemed dead but is the best selling in the electricity market. He is followed ID.7which also uses the MEB platform. The Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5 They are positioned in the fourth position (add up to the same bag because ID.5 is only the Coupé variant of ID.4). You have to go down to the twelfth position to find the Ford Explorer. Capri is not among … Read more

“The Clio will never be electric.” And the fault has a whole classic

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Just a few days ago we moved to a ship on the outskirts of Paris to learn about the new Renault Clio. In a small advance before officially showing it in public during the IAA Mobility of Münichthe French confessed to us all the details of one of the most urban proposals of the brand. So we already knew that the new Renault Clio I would only have a pure combustion engine, one that works with natural gas and a 160 hp hybrid And ridiculous consumption that, of course, is the great star of the range. As we said in the article in which we described our sensations with the new model, which we will lead later, there are two powerful reasons to include this propeller. The first is that with him they get CO2 emissions to be below 93.6 g/km of CO2 that, In 2027, they will make the difference between good and evil. The second is that, before an expected price increase in the model, Renault has chosen to deliver an engine to the height that justifies that (very likely) increasing. “It will never be electric” Renault’s presentation has been welcomed among the public as one would expect. Those who show a greater rejection of the electric car congratulate that a car with combustion engine, low and, although small consumption, is available, the promise of taking you anywhere with solvency if we attend to its 160 hp. On the contrary, there is no lack of who claims an electric version among those who are more prone to the electricity jump. Fabrice Cambolive, new Renault CEO (brand) that has taken the reins in the middle of a general restructuring after Luca de Meo’s departure as general head of the Renault group, has been clear about this movement: “The Renault Clio is not an electric model or will ever be. It is a hybrid model that responds to other needs, including it, “said Cambolive to L’Automobile. In the words collected by the French media, the French brand’s CEO explains that this electricity place is occupied by the Renault R5 and that the captur and the Renault R4 They play a very similar role for those who prefer a SUV option. They are “four segment B cars that we have decided to place in a complementary way (…) have positions, designs, profits and a mixture of completely different customers,” says Cambolive. In his answers, the Renault CEO also suggests that if Renault goes with lead feet before the electric car instead of following messages that talk about this technology as the only one in the future is because the electric market in Europe “is still in its beginnings.” Other reasons must be taken into account. The Renault Clio has been created on a platform designed to host a combustion engine and powerful hybridization, while the Renault 5 has been designed, directly, on a designed platform From scratch to house a completely electric car. Therefore, it is very likely that transforming the clio into an electric and the Renault 5 into one of combustion worse both cars. In general, electric cars mounted on platforms for combustion vehicles have worked badly because their autonomies and load powers have always been more limited than the electric created from scratch. This latest version of the CLIO has been mounted on the CMF-B platform that already mounted the outgoing generation, which allows the French manufacturer for enormous cost savings. What anticipates Cambolive is that if the plans are maintained as expected, the Renault Clio will end up discontinued or, in the best case, on a last platform with plug -in hybridization. Keep in mind that from 2027 the average emissions of the manufacturers They cannot exceed 93.6 gr/km of CO2 If you don’t want to stick to huge fines. This version manages to be below but in 2030 that limit wants to reduce by half, pressing the brands so that the vast majority of their sales are electric or highly electrified, With just space For combustion engines. Photo | Renault In Xataka | When Renault wanted to test his Renault 4, he did something most reasonable: torture him with three million kilometers

“It is impossible to make an electric car with SEAT if we want to earn money”

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The current interim CEO of the brand has put a brake on any short and medium term electrification plan for SEAT, focusing the entire electricity bet of the group in Cupra. In fact, it has been in the Munich Motor Show where some of the coupra models that will mark the future of the brand have been seen. An electric SEAT that does not arrive. “Today it is impossible to make an electric car with SEAT if we want An interview With the media. The shadow of An electric volkswagen for 20,000 euroswhich would materialize according to the company in 2027, unbalance all SEAT electrification plans. “If Volkswagen sells at that price, how much should Seat sell?” Haupt continued. The Raval Cupra makes an appearance at the IAA Mobility. Image: Cupra A two brand strategy. The decision to keep Seat out of the electrification responds to a clear commercial logic that HAUPT himself explains: “Seat today is an ideal complement to coupra, because they are in different segments, aimed at different customers.” While Cupra is positioned right now as the premium and sports brand that can assume electrification costs, Seat will remain in the field of combustion and hybridization. To this strategy is added the launch next month of The new versions of Ibiza and the Aronademonstrating that the company wants to continue betting on renewing its range of supervent vehicles. Cupra takes the electrical prominence. The group’s electric future is concentrated exclusively in Cupra, which next year will launch the ravalits entrance model from 25,000 euros with up to 450 kilometers of autonomy. This vehicle will occur in Martorell next to the Volkswagen Id.polowith an estimated capacity of 300,000 units annually between both models. HAUPT has also presented in Munich the Cupra Tindayaa concept car that will reach production “at the beginning of the next decade” and that marks the new brand design language. Of figures goes the thing. In the first semester, Seat and Cupra barely reached an operational benefit of 38 million eurosand Haupt It has been clear on the need to “reduce our cost structure.” Tariffs to the coupra tavascan manufactured in China have negatively impacted these results, although the manager is optimistic about a resolution before the end of the year after negotiations with Brussels. The future is still electric, but not for everyone. Despite how resounding his words have been with Seat, Haupt maintains that “the day will come where I suppose that the amount of electric cars will exceed combustion. That will allow us to improve component prices and make the electric car more affordable for the consumer and cheaper for us.” Meanwhile, the group continues to make the decision to play with Cupra and Seat to satisfy its entire audience. Cover image | SEAT In Xataka | Volkswagen presents the ID. Cross concept and the least is the car: the buttons return and forget the rare names

Europe has hope placed in the electric car of 25,000 euros and Volkswagen already knows who will manufacture it: Spain

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Volkswagen ID. Polo, Raval Cupra, Skoda Epiq and Volkswagen ID. Cross. Those are all the cars that Volkwagen has commissioned Spain. The company has commissioned the bulk of its urban vehicles to our country. It will do it with four cars that will be key, for better or worse, in the medium -term company strategy. Confirmation. It will be in Martorell, Barcelona (Volkswagen ID.P Polo and Cupra Raval), and in Landaben, Navarra (Skoda Epiq and Volkswagen ID.cross) where the Volkswagen group will manufacture its smallest electric. The company has confirmed it at the IAA Mobilitythe Münich hall focused on electric vehicles. It will be its four electric cars that will fly over 25,000 euros. That is to say, The “affordable” offer The group will be manufactured in Spain, a strategy that we already sensed partially but that was about to be confirmed. 25,000 euros electric car hub. The arrival of these four models to our country is, on paper, great news for the company’s workers. Martorell has long been positioned as the central nucleus of the strategy, with A battery plant “by your side”its projection as Component supplier And, now, with the two cars awarded. Landaben takes another very important pinch. The Volkswagen ID. Cross, which is just a concept, will be one of the company’s great assets in the segment. The Volkswagen T-Cross promises to be one of the most important electric/medium term electric. The EPIQ will be the “affordable” option. In addition, in both cases the SUV body fits perfectly into the electric car since it is the body preferred by the public and facilitates to fit greater battery capacity in the car without sacrificing the space. Investment. In your event, Volkswagen has pointed out that a total of 10,000 million euros will be invested. 70% will be in charge of the company that are divided into the electrification of the Barcelona plant (3,000 million euros), Navarra (1,000 million euros) and the 3,000 million euros of the Sagunto plant. The remaining 3,000 million euros correspond, according to the company, with the investments of the auxiliary companies to mount these cars. Key models. Spain has become a key region for the future of the company. Right now, it has four of the models that aspire to generate a qualitative leap in sales within the German group and the plant that will produce the batteries for all of them. The sale of these cars is especially relevant because in 2027 manufacturers have to Place below 93.6 gr/km of CO2 in the average emissions of the cars that have sold. The figure is already hard and needs the sale of large volumes of electricity but it will be Much more in 2030 When that maximum figure is reduced in half. If the political plans are maintained, the cars that occur in Spain should despite substantially in the company’s results accounts Volkswagen is interested in prioritizing the sale of these cars that, by price, should be easier to sell. The risk. The other face of the currency is evident: that cars are not sold. Although manufacturers are obliged to press in this market (due They present obvious inconveniences when they are taken out of the city. Right now, that electric, cheap and “for everything” car or that allows “anywhere” even with space limitations does not exist. That role played by the Seat Ibizato give an example, it is in danger of extinction if the manufacturer does not opt ​​for a substantial electrification of mechanics. Spain, leader. Spain has managed to find its hole in the electric car market. Although has been threatened by brands (and in fact it is made) it will be taken to take some of the cheapest electric to countries with less expensive labor, such as Morocco, Spain has managed to offer itself as an attractive country to produce cars with the lowest profit margin. Volkswagen’s bet is not alone. Stellantis will also produce its smallest models in Spain. Vigo and Zaragoza will be key in the production of smaller cars, the mounts About the Stla Small platform. It is a battle that has earned France or Germany whose operational costs are higher and need to produce higher costs (and less volume) to justify its production. Photo | Volkswagen In Xataka | If the question is if the cars were “cheaper” regarding your salary in 1975 than now, we have made accounts

Europe has done everything possible to prevent China from flooding us with its electric cars. The Byd solution: ships from Thailand

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The cheapest Chinese cars are a danger to the European industry. At least that is what our regulators consider who claim that if tariffs are not imposed, they will be competing in our soil. To solve it, they lifted commercial barriers that had to balance the situation. The Byd solution: Do not send your cars from China. The tariffs. So many things have happened in the last year that it seems that Chinese manufacturers have been paying for exporting their electric cars to Europe. However, it is a measure that It only applies since October 30, 2024. Shortly before, the European Union was applying the calls “Compensatory Rights” But everything ended up being defined as fixed tariffs a few months later. Those tariffs, however, are variable. Any importation of cars from the European Union pays 10%. To that money an additional rate was added depending on the brand because, according to European regulators, not all Chinese companies have received the same state favors. SAIC, who is a company of the Chinese state and did not want to collaborate with the investigations, has to add another 35.3% to the 10% flat rate. Byd, however, was the company that collaborated the most and that, in European eyes, less favor treatment has received. However, it was punished with additional 17%. Its impact. The impact of the measure has been obvious. Chinese electric cars are costing them to enter the market. Although it is its natural environment, the urban electric car still having a relatively high price. Especially if we understand that in many cases it can function as the only car since Outside the city can be eternalized. There, the Chinese electric car had the price of the price in its favor. If their offer was much cheaper than that of the rivals could gain a good part of the market. However, Registrations tell us that it has been absent. Even in a country like Spain that has the price as the main purchase value, there is only one Chinese car among the 10 best -selling electric (Byd Atto 3 in eighth position). Consequently, where China has really hurt so far it has been with the vehicles with combustion engines. There, the country does have a lot to win since European plug -in hybrids still have a high price but the Chinese offer Much more space and equipment at a much lower cost. Well, wait. There has been much talk about how Chinese manufacturers want to skip these commercial barriers. At the moment we know that Byd is raising a plant in Hungary and that he has chosen Türkiye as next destination. The plan seemed clear: development and assembly of the most expensive cars in Hungary (with greater margin of benefits) and production in Türkiye of the cheapest and most complicated cars to amortize. The strategy in fact was supported shortly after if we take into account that the European Union would have transferred Chery that his intention to Use Nissan’s factories in Barcelona and just use them to make the last parts soldier (cars arrive almost mounted on containers As if they were great pieces of a puzzle) It was insufficient. If you want to skip tariffs, Europe wants real investment. The Dolphin Surf. But all these byd plans point in the medium term. Before the company has to continue making its way on the market and wanted to make a dent with its fetish car: the Byd Dolphin Surf. This car that in China is known as Seagull It is clear about its appeal: hypercompetitive price, good performance and finishes far superior to competition. The car is a supervent in China to the point that they have managed to place in the market One million units in 27 months. There the car It is sold with the eye of God active. That is, it can circulate completely autonomously in fast roads … Although its price is just 9,000 euros to change. In Europe we could expect a much higher price but, yes, in Spain adding the aid of the MOVES III PLAN And the brand discount, it is possible to buy it for just 11,000 euros. A hypercompetitive price that already has the customer response (second best -selling electric car in July). Supported by Dolphin. Next to Dolphin Surf, the other electric car in which Byd has great hopes is the Byd Dolphinthe older brother of surfing. If surfing can harm markets such as Spanish, still reluctant to buy smaller electric ones if they do not have a great price, Dolphin is perfect for countries with greater purchasing power such as the United Kingdom or Germany. If we observe sales in Europeclearly Byd is on the rise and for them it is essential that these two models be hugged by the public if they want to be relevant actors in the industry. From Thailand to Europe. So, strengthened the brand in the first European markets, the company wanted to continue winning European market. After a dubitative start, has made structural changes in the direction and In July he already managed to overcome Tesla in sales And in market share although, yes, we must remember that byd sells plug -in hybrids. He is aware that the Dolphin Surf Byd is key and that he can do a lot of harm with his most affordable proposal. For that it is important to bring everyone who can and has found the way: send them from Thailand. This is stated Carnewschinawho say that the company is jumping European tariffs because the car is manufactured and sent from this country. And the tariffs? Tariff tariffs come from Thailand is 10%, the usual For all those brought from the outside. The only thing that is required is that the car has at least 40% of local components so it is not as simple as manufacturing in China and assembling the latest pieces in Thailand and then sending it. This practice, for example, It is the one … Read more

There are more and more and better plugs for electric cars but Tesla continues to lead. The recipe: cheap and reliable loaders

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Holy Week of 2024. Dozens of Tesla cars They queue in a Cañavate Atalaya charger (Cuenca) in the middle of any place. The situation went viral and because scenes were repeated in Mérida and Albacete. The waiting were 15 or 20 minutes in many cases but also exceeded the time in others. They all had something in common: Tesla Load Stations. Despite the jokes and despite the intention of ridiculing the owners, in Xataka We broke a spear in favor of those drivers And we count why they had happened. If Holy Week has taught us, it is not missing chargers for electric cars. What are missing are reliable plugs. So we titled. Year and a half later, things have changed. Not only in Spain, also in the United States. But, nevertheless, Tesla still has the best load experience. And that is still key when selling the car. Tesla chargers are still ahead The data this time comes from the United States but the situation is extrapolable to what happens in Spain. JD Powerspecialists in motor market analysis, has analyzed the status of the United States recharge network and its conclusion is very simple: there are more and more chargers available and increasingly spoil. But Tesla continues to lead, with much, satisfaction among electric cars when you have to recharge a vehicle. Keep in mind that the United States has a huge Loading deficit. Especially if we consider that distances are huge. If the country is wanted to embrace the electric car to a greater extent it is necessary to create a good network of loaders as fast as reliable. A good part of that network is now in the hands of Tesla, where most users load. They do not even have a Tesla. The latter is key to understand why satisfaction with the price of loaders and the load experience has fallen in the last year. According to their data, drivers are less happy with both points because they observe that, for them, prices are more expensive and the most rough experience than for Tesla users. Something curious occurs, therefore. According to JDPOWER, the level of failed visits (the charger does not work correctly or is out of service) is the lowest in four years and the number of drivers who have reported these failures (14%) is also lower than in 2024. General satisfaction, however, has fallen. The Tesla Network is so good compared to the competition that the users themselves have pressed to the manufacturers of other cars to the point that they have assumed the Tesla standard to load, modifying their own cargo ports. The best user experience In Spain (and Europe) that is not so because fast loaders are all (except for the first Japanese cars) CCS2. That is, the plugs are the same for everyone. But Tesla’s experience is still above. To understand it, we resume the case of Holy Week in 2024. This year the same have not been observed issues. Or not, at least, with the same seriousness as last year. It is logical, as we said that happened. Tesla has “kidnap” the owner of his cars in his own ecosystem. Tesla did something very intelligent since her birth. It was as simple as proposing their own load stations. Thus they guaranteed to give a confidence network to those who made the leap to a completely new company (and technology). They also took advantage, to create synergies of which the rest of the manufacturers have not arranged. First, his recharge were free. Now that is a thing of the past but their prices are still lower than those of the competition. This guarantees that, in the day to day, the Tesla user prioritizes the load in their stations. But saving a few euros on a very specific day is no reason for users to prefer to spend more than an hour stopped before recharging the vehicle. If those queues were formed, it is because the Tesla recharge network is very reliable. In fact, myself when I try the cars of any company for our reviews soil to prioritize Tesla plugs Because they have never left me. Only Zunder has offered me this same experience. With the rest of the companies I have had problems of malfunction or inoperance. It is logical, therefore, that if a Tesla driver has hurried the autonomy of his car is reluctant to go to another load point, consume a good part of the little percentage that remains reserved and risks that the plug of another company does not work. He will think: “Better wait here for an hour than to go to another place, Not being able to load and have to call the crane“ To this we must add that Tesla’s user experience is the best because they have eliminated small frictions that are very appreciated on a day -to -day basis. It is something similar to Apple’s ecosystem. Can you have a Mac, an Android phone and use some AirPods in the latter? Yes, but there are small barriers that the average or little advanced user will hurt especially. The same goes for the electric car. Tesla has one of the best software in the market and, probably, the best route calculator. Prioritize your chargers and show you in real time the occupation of it and advances a possible wait. When you arrive, the vehicle detects the loader, opens the load gate and plugs the hose in the car. When it is time to continue, the mobile phone warns you and as the car is associated with a credit or debit card, nothing must be done. The position will be passed. Simple. When one carries in Tesla supercargers with another car you have to Log in the mobile phone and select the load point you will use. You have previously had to register the card. Finally the position will be passed. This process has to repeat it with Each and every one of the companies … Read more

With only two electric cars, Xiaomi is getting out of the “Valley of Death.” Others cost more than a decade

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The Xiaomi Su7 has surprised the entire industry And he has led the company to do such rare things as telling its customers in a hurry that buy cars from competition. The play hides a strategy, but it is a great example of how good it goes to the company with its second car and bets on luxury, The Yu7. While they hope to make the leap to Europe in 2027, he has achieved kneel. Lost 800 million In his first year he sold cars. Great news that already pointed to what was coming later: the Break Even When losing $ 500 per car sold is good news. Xiaomi has presented the Financial Results of the Second Fiscal Quarterwith great news for your car section. The Auto Division has commercialized 81,302 vehicles in the period and lost 41 million dollars. It is a loss of $ 507 for each car sold. It is very good news for the speed at which the company is approaching profitability. The photo. In the last quarters, Xiaomi comes from losing, on average, 1,376, 905 and 507 dollars respectively, after coming from losses of 5,250 in the third quarter of 2024. That is, it now loses a tenth of what I lost until November. And it is not the only positive figure that the results bring along with sales growth: the gross margin has grown from 15.4% of the second quarter of 2024 to 26.4% of this year. This contributes to having launched the Su7 ultrawhose launch has helped the average sale price up 10% in one year. With him they wanted to eat Porsche in his field, And they got it. According to its financial results, Xiaomi is very close to starting to earn money with its car section. Why it is important. Tesla is the only pure manufacturers of electric cars that He has managed to get out of the “Death Valley” the initial period in which Startups They burn money to espuertas without hardly generating money. Brands such as Rivian, Lucid, or Ford (in their electric division) have accumulated losses exceeding 22,200, 11,000 and 10,500 million dollars respectively. That Xiaomi only loses 41 million dollars per quarter with such competitive prices speaks of the balance that has its commitment just over a year after having launched. How are they getting it. Not all companies have The support that Xiaomi has had In his car crossing. In this sense, according to Bill Russo, CEO and founder of Automobility, a determining factor of Xiaomi’s success has to do with its production agility, which has benefited widely from producing with Beijing Auto, a state company that already had a huge production scale before the arrival of Xiaomi. The company was able to access a production chain already components of high quality already available in the market thanks to investments made by the matrix and its founder for years in companies such as companies such as Momenta. Another of the keys, according to John Helveston, a professor specialized in the Chinese electric vehicles industry: it is an achievement to manufacture an electric in such a short time, but attention must be paid to evolution. “The car industry is hard and success is measured in years of resistance, not in the speed of the first launch,” he told us. Xiaomi has passed in a year of being present in 30 cities with 87 stores to be in 92 with 335 stores. Image: Xiaomi. Xiaomi had a long way carved. Yes, even being new in the electric car sector. On the one hand, although you can buy online cars, by its already extensive distribution network In China: 335 sales centers in 92 cities, and growing at a dizzying pace. It is no longer the company we met for selling extremely cheap technology. Although it maintains a part of that bet, in recent years too He has focused on the premium with the support of luxury brands such as Leica. It is much more path of of some brands when arriving in Spain. The challenge. Among such good news, Xiaomi faces a problem: long waiting times and limited calendar. This explains that in China, the Su7 be the king of resalecosting more than new and with up to 10 months of waiting. To a limited production they also faced for years fAbricante as Teslaand Xiaomi has the best example of how to grow. In 2024 he achieved sell 4 million vehicles (In front of the 350,000 that Xiaomi hopes to sell this year). Xiaomi has a plan factor growth for his future cars and be able to face international expansion. It will be a crucial moment, for example companies like Novo Nordisk knows well: the problems for Ozempic in the United States began When they could not deal with demand. Cover image | Xiaomi In Xataka | Intel is closer than ever to be chopped. A giant is interested in buying its chips factories

Polestar has broken a record of autonomy in electric cars circulating more than 900 kilometers. Obviously there is a trick

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935.4 kilometers without recharging the battery. That is the record that has achieved a Polestar 3 conventional – in its version of a single engine – thus demonstrating that it is possible to make very long trips without going through a recharge point. The secret is from the record is obvious, yes. Superdespace. For achieve all those kilometers The technique was simple: go very slowly. In fact, the average speed was less than 40 km/h, and took no less than 22 hours and 57 minutes to complete the task. The publicized autonomy by Polestar for this model in its unique motor version is 706 km, so here they managed to lengthen it 32.5%. Three professional drivers. The tests were performed in the United Kingdom, where three drivers specialized in efficient driving were turned to achieve that milestone. The final consumption reached was 12.1 kWh per 100 km, which represents a saving of about 40% compared to conventional driving. Without tricks. This Polestar 3 achieved that autonomy without using special equipment: both the car and the wheels were the same as one obtains When you get the concessionaire car. However, it is possible to go further if some modifications are made. If you also have the car, you can go even further. A few days ago Chevrolet modified A WT Silverado truck and put a huge 205 kWh battery (the Polastar 3 is 111 kWh). They also placed old wheels with overpressure and 40 drivers turned to drive it around Detroit. They managed to travel 1,704 km with a single load, and as in the case of Polestar 3 the average speed did not exceed 40 km/h. The consumption on that journey was 12.7 kWh at 100 km, an equally remarkable figure in which yes, influenced that they had the air conditioning without working for almost the entire route. Baja is also worth it. In July a Lucid Air Grand Touring He got his particular Guinnes record When traveling 1,205 kilometers with a unique load. The car has a battery with the same capacity as that of the Polestar 3 (111 kWh), and toured the distance between St. Moritz and Munich. Although the car was a conventional model, the lucid benefited from both efficient driving and the energy regeneration system in braking and slopes: that route was full of them, but it was also descending mostly. The key is not the battery, they are the consumption. Although obviously the battery capacity influences the autonomy of electric cars, further influences the consumption of each model. The Mercedes Vision EQXX for example achieved a record prior to the Tour 1,010 km without recharging at 79.4 km/h on average… and another 392 kilometers had left in those conditions. The secret is that this approval model 7.4 kWh consumption at 100 km, while for example a tesla 3 rear -wheel drive homologous 13.2 kWh at 100 km. Aerodynamics helps, but if things are added to consumption as an efficient driving and low speed, those figures rise significantly. Absurd records. Although all these records are striking, they are also a marketing exercise for companies that logically try the same thing: that they talk (well) of them. Here we have messages that are also even absurd: going at 40 km/h for 23 hours has its reward in this case, but in real life it would be absolute torture. The practical uselessness of these records – not only that of Polestar – is the same as the one who tells us about how The Xiaomi Su7 beat all its competitors In Nürburgring last year: none of us are going to those speeds or drive in those circuits, but speed records are always striking. Putting these vehicles to the limit is fine, but it is important to contemplate these records with perspective. Image | Polestar In Xataka | In 2017 Norway, it was proposed that 100% of the cars sold in 2025 were electric. Is about to get it

The most obsessively competitive gamers have found a trick to win their rivals: Give Electric Downloads

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Today video game developers are really strict in terms of cheating in their creations, with different systems Anti -che that They even affect kernel From our computer as is the case in ‘Valorant‘. But a new generation of Modders It is demonstrating that traps can be done without touching a single line of game code: with electrical discharges. If I can’t hack the game, I’m looking for alternatives. For some people, it is good for it is the same as Apply different tricks to games that they use daily to be able to cross walls, be immortal or have an automatic point when talking about Shooters. But this is something that leaves the rest of the players of a game. Having the player himself. Two Youtubers They have put the solution on the table to skip the barriers that are applied at the hardware level. One of them is ‘Basically Homeless’ that has led the concept of ‘player improvement’ to a new level. And instead of installing software that points for it in Counter-Strike 2, has created a system that electrocutes your arm to react at a superhuman speed. The mechanism is fascinating. An external software analyzes the screen in search of enemies. As soon as one detects one, it sends a signal to a Raspberry Piwhich in turn activates muscle stimulation diodes placed strategically in its forearm and hand. These little cramps force their muscles to get contracting, moving the mouse towards the target and clicking. Surprisingly, it is something that works. The results are very good. The own Youtuber He managed to reduce his reaction time of about 200 milliseconds approximately at only 100 milliseconds. According to its calculations, using an Ethernet cable connection instead of Wi -Fi to communicate the PC with the Raspberry Pi, it could lower this figure to 40 ms, a practically unbeatable speed for a human being. It does not consider it a trap. For this creator this is not something that threatens ethics when playing against other people. It is only a help, or as he calls it, ‘neuromuscular aim assistance’, since it is technically his own body who performs the action, although induced by a machine. Although it remains to be seen what large companies would say if this is popularized. Robotic carpets that point for you. In a similar line, the Modder Kamal Carter has presented another solution of hardware to dominate in Valorant. In his case, the protagonist is not his arm, but a robotic platform located under the mouse mat. And the system is similar. A screen reader identifies the enemy bots in the game’s shooting field in the first place. Next, a program that emulates the techniques of aimed at professional players sends instructions to the platform. This moves with a millimeter accuracy, displacing the mouse to achieve perfect shots. After adding a system that automates the click, Carter achieved almost perfect scores in practical mode. The most advanced anti-cheat systems are weak. “Made the law, made the trap,” says the saying. And in this case it is fulfilled. Large companies no longer know what to do to avoid tricks in their games, coming to ‘invade’ the kernel of our computer with maximum Windows privileges. Something that is designed to detect the use of unauthorized software. And there are many consequences that are being presented by cheating. Valve managed to block 40,000 cheats In ‘Dota 2’ or in ‘Deadlock’ They transformed into frogs to the most cheats to become aware that they should not do that. But also in Warzone they bet on Block the opening of the parachutes with the aim of crashing directly with the ground. But now these new tricks can be more difficult to detect and apply a punishment. In Xataka | Nintendo Switch 2: 17 tricks and tips to squeeze the portable console to the maximum

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